Scholes keeps the Wolves from door

PERHAPS it is fitting that for someone who has never done a thoroughly convincing job of denying he smokes, that Dimitar Berbatov plays the game as if he has a cigarette in his hand.

However the Bulgarian will surely have to break sweat this week.

It remains to be seen whether Alex Ferguson’s insistence that Wayne Rooney’s knee problem makes him a major doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League last 16 second leg tie with AC Milan is any more than mischief making.

Ferguson has already said that Berbatov will “probably” play against Milan at Old Trafford and although the manager has remained a staunch defender of the striker, his vocal faith in the former Tottenham man has never really been reflected in his team selections.

Even this season, he came off the bench in the two games against Arsenal, started at Liverpool and missed out at Chelsea, having been restricted to the role of substitute in both legs of last season’s Champions League semi-final with Arsenal as well as the final against Barcelona.

Ferguson has revealed that the striker is still playing through a knee problem, which may require surgery in the summer, but if Saturday’s gritty victory proved anything, it was that Berbatov, who has scored nine goals this season, is certainly not suited to playing as a lone forward.

He loves to float away from the area and link the play deep in midfield and the idea at Molineux was for Ferguson’s midfield to get forward to support him.

Five years ago it would have been a task that Paul Scholes relished but when he plays in a midfield three now, he plays as the deepest, while neither Michael Carrick and Darron Gibson, good players as they are, possess that quality to burst into the area and Antonio Valencia, superb again, and Nani were busy on the flanks.

In fact, only Darren Fletcher could claim to have the sort of work-rate that could see him get beyond a static lone striker on a regular basis but he would acknowledge that he would not like to be relied upon to be United’s main threat.

Rio Ferdinand claimed that Berbatov’s training stats are better than anyone’s and insisted that the forward worked the Wolves back four, while assistant manager Mike Phelan maintained that the striker’s performance meant that Rooney’s absence was not missed.

Ferguson believes that scoring is the key to progressing into the quarter-finals on Wednesday but will have to have noted that for the hour that Berbatov was on his own up front on Saturday, United were restricted to long-range efforts and lacked penetration.

Mame Biram Diouf is as raw as anything but it was only when the Senegalese youngster came off the bench to join Berbatov that United were able to stretch the Premier League strugglers, purely because he was willing to play 10 yards further forward than the Bulgarian.

At least these are problems that Ferguson can mull over from the top of the table, two points clear of Chelsea and Arsenal and the United manager can also be content in the knowledge that his defence is finally starting to take shape once again.

United now have a back four in place that will cover up for plenty of problems in front of them.

With back problems marring his season, Ferdinand, who partnered Nemanja Vidic for just the fifth time in the Premier League this season, is unlikely to be making any bold predictions for himself but he thinks that United’s back-line can give them a solid platform when it really matters. “In the last three years we’ve won a lot of games 1-0 and those are vital. At this stage of the season a win’s a win,” Ferdinand said.

“It’s just nice to be playing again and me and Vida have played a lot of games together in the past and been fairly successful so it’s just good to be back playing and being with Vida is great.

“I’m just taking each game as it comes. I’ve worked hard on my rehab and worked hard on my fitness and Wolves was a real test physically so to come through that unscathed is great and I look forward to being up for selection for Wednesday.”

After Stephen Ward headed straight at Edwin van der Sar, Scholes scored his 100th Premier League goal when Jody Craddock failed to clear Nani’s cross and the old schemer took a touch before finding the corner of Marcus Hahnemann’s net.

Still, Wolves had the chance to snatch a point when an unmarked Sam Vokes lifted a shot over the bar in added time. With just one win in 10, Wolves do not have the easiest run-in after a crucial trip to Burnley next Saturday but their final three games are against Blackburn, Portsmouth and Sunderland.

Mick McCarthy maintains he is not concerned about spending time in the bottom three in the coming weeks. He said: “Who is to know where we’ll be in two weeks? It’s where we’ll be in eight weeks that’s my concern and if we maintain the standards, we can turn it around.

“There are plenty of games to go. We may drop into the bottom three but there are games coming along that we can win and we just have to believe that if we play like that, we’ll win them.”

MATCH RATING: ** – Not a classic by any stretch. Wolves are a model of how to waste possession and United ground it out.

REFEREE: Peter Walton (Northants) 7 – A steady game from the official. There was the predictable moaning from the home support but in truth had no major decisions to get wrong.